Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.12 and last traded at $44.2860. 23,675,540 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 29,129,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.78.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.30 EPS versus $1.27 expected, while also improving from $1.22 a year ago. Verizon Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year FY 2026 EPS guidance to $4.99-$5.04, above the prior outlook and Wall Street expectations, which supports confidence in future profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Subscriber gains were stronger than expected, including 184,000 postpaid phone net additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net additions, suggesting improved competitive momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also lifted forecasts for adjusted profit, cash flow, and free cash flow, helped by new unlimited 5G plans and rewards programs that are reducing dependence on heavy promotions. Reuters article on raised forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a deal with Google worth more than $1 billion to provide dark fiber connectivity for Google data centers, adding a meaningful enterprise revenue opportunity. Reuters article on Google deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue declined 0.6% year over year, showing that top-line growth is still modest even as profit and subscriber trends improve.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some reports noted profit pressure from joint-venture costs, which tempers the otherwise upbeat earnings picture. WSJ article on JV costs

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $183.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.39 and its 200-day moving average is $46.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,499,000 after buying an additional 639,380 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 697.0% in the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after buying an additional 412,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after buying an additional 316,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.